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1984 Soviet Union legislative election

← 1979 4 March 1984 1989 →
All 750 seats in the Soviet of the Union All 750 seats in the Soviet of Nationalities
First party Second party   Leader Konstantin Chernenko Party CPSU Independents Seats won 551 (U) / 521 (N) 199 (U) / 229 (N) Seat change 2 (U) / 5 (N) 2 (U) / 5 (N)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers before election Nikolai Tikhonov CPSU Elected Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikolai Tikhonov CPSU

Elections to the eleventh Supreme Soviet were held in the Soviet Union on 4 March 1984. They were the last in the Soviet Union to be held before Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and demokratizatsiya resulted in partially free elections in 1989. They were also the last direct elections to the Supreme Soviet, as in 1989 deputies were elected to the Congress of People's Deputies, who then elected the Supreme Soviet.

Electoral system

Candidates had to be nominated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) or by a public organisation. However, all public organisations were controlled by the party and were subservient to a 1931 law that required them to accept party rule. The CPSU itself remained the only legal one in the country.

Voters could vote against the CPSU candidate, but could only do so by using polling booths, whereas votes for the party could be cast simply by submitting a blank ballot. Turnout was required to be over 50% for the election to be valid.

Candidates

CPSU candidates accounted for around three quarters of the nominees, whilst many of the others were members of Komsomol.

Results

With over 184 million Soviet citizens voting in the election, over 99% of the votes went to a deputy to the Supreme Soviet, with over 100,000 votes against Party candidates, the lowest for any election in the Soviet Union.

Soviet of the Union

Soviet of Nationalities

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1642 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1630
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p1654
4. Nohlen & Stöver, p1631
5. Party, State, and Citizen in the Soviet Union: A Collection of Documents, edited by Mervyn Matthews, London: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1989, p. 5-6, 16-18.

v t e Elections and referendums in the Soviet Union
Presidential elections	1990
Legislative elections	1922 1924 1925 1927 1929 1931 1935 1936 1937 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1979 1984 1989
Regional elections	1938 1939 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1980 1985 1990
Local elections	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927
Referendums	1991

• 1984 elections in Asia
• 1984 elections in Europe
• Legislative elections in the Soviet Union
• One-party elections
• Single-candidate elections
• March 1984 events in the Soviet Union